This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

World Cup woes: Injuries already plaguing tournament before it begins

By Barry WilnerAssociated Press

Fri., June 4, 2010

JOHANNESBURG—The World Cup does not begin for a week but the buildup claimed some high-profile victims Friday, including England captain Rio Ferdinand and prolific Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba.

Ferdinand was ruled out of the tournament a week before England’s opening game after suffering knee ligament damage at the team’s training ground near the city of Rustenburg in northern South Africa.

A continent away in Switzerland, Drogba told a teammate he was out of the World Cup after breaking his right elbow in a 2-0 friendly victory over Japan.

Italy playmaker Andrea Pirlo is resting at home in Milan with a calf injury that could force him to miss some of the world soccer championship. Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar missed practice for the second straight day as he recovers from a back injury.

And American striker Jozy Altidore has a sprained right ankle that makes him doubtful for Saturday’s warmup match against Australia.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Injuries have run through nearly every team from every continent well before the World Cup begins. Nowhere is the agony stronger than in Ivory Coast.

Drogba, one of the world’s best strikers, led Chelsea to the English Premier League title this season, scoring 29 goals. But he told teammate Kolo Toure that he will miss the World Cup after being hurt in the warmup match in Sion, Switzerland.

“For him, he said, the World Cup is finished,” Toure said.

The 32-year-old Drogba was taken off 15 minutes into the game after a high challenge by Japan defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka. He was then rushed to a hospital.

“We can just see on his face that he was sad, and when he is like that you can’t ask more,” Toure said. “It is difficult for us because he is such a really important player.”

Team spokesman Eric Kacou said “it is a fracture in his right arm,” but coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said the team hadn’t officially ruled out its captain.

“We are not sure yet,” Eriksson said, adding Drogba’s participation — the Ivorians open June 15 against Portugal — was “still a possibility.”

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Tulio said he had no intention of hurting Drogba.

“God and everybody in the stadium saw it was a normal challenge,” said the Brazil-born defender, who was shown a yellow card. “I do hope he gets better in time to play in the World Cup.”

Ferdinand, who starts in central defence with John Terry, hobbled out of a hospital on crutches after hurting his knee while defending against striker Emile Heskey during England’s first full training session in South Africa. He will be replaced as captain by Steven Gerrard. The English open against the United States in Rustenburg on June 12, and Tottenham defender Michael Dawson, who was cut Tuesday, was immediately called up replace Ferdinand in the squad.

“It came from a minor tackle during the training,” England coach Fabio Capello said.

England goalkeeper David James was unable to train with his teammates and had to work separately in the gym because of knee woes.

Pirlo, the player of the match when Italy beat France to win the 2006 World Cup, injured his left calf in a friendly loss to Mexico on Wednesday and will sit out the warmup game against Switzerland on Saturday.

The Italian Football Federation said the midfielder will travel with the team to South Africa and continue to be evaluated ahead of Italy’s first match, against Paraguay on June 14. A team doctor said such injuries take 15 to 20 days to heal.

Cesar underwent physiotherapy at the team’s hotel Friday. He fell awkwardly and injured his back in Brazil’s 3-0 win over Zimbabwe on Wednesday in Harare. Doctors say the injury is not serious and should not keep the goalkeeper from playing in Brazil’s opener against North Korea on June 15.

“It’s not a big problem,” coach Dunga said. “In two or three days, he will be back to normal.”

Starting left back Michel Bastos left practice with an ankle problem. Brazil team doctor Jose Luiz Runco said Bastos was hit in the right ankle, but the injury was not a concern.

Perhaps FIFA should be losing sleep over these injuries, said Jose Luis Chilavert, Paraguay’s former standout ’keeper.

“FIFA should plan ahead and give the players more time to rest to have a good World Cup,” he said. “Sadly, what happens is that the commercial side is what moves everything nowadays.

“Sometimes the commercial aspect is more influential than the sporting and then you put the body at risk. The truth is that the football player wants to play, but you have to take into account that the body needs rest and that we’re not robots.

“You have to take precautions in the right moment. If I was a coach, I wouldn’t be playing friendly (matches) at this time.”

More from The Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com